News
Fact vs. fiction: Immigration
Fiction: Being in the United States unlawfully is a crime. Fact: Not necessarily. Being here unlawfully – such has having expired documents – isn’t a felony, or even a misdemeanor. It’s considered a civil violation, punishable by deportation and possibly a re-entry gap. It’s tantamount to getting a parking ticket, according to Illya Shapira with…
Social Security works; don’t let Trump destroy it
Be afraid, very afraid. There is good reason to fear that President Trump and the Republican Party are out to destroy our Social Security system. Social Security is an incredibly popular program. For decades, it has provided a reliable income floor for seniors. We need to prepare to fight for it. President Trump and the…
Director’s Desk: How we can help bridge the gap between our homeless neighbors and the larger public
Young people grow up understanding that having people experiencing homelessness in their city is simply a fact of life. It’s a sad reality. The truth is mass homelessness hasn’t always existed in American cities. Saying that, it exists today and has become a normal part of life for many people living and working in American…
Environment
Easy backyard beekeeping for Oregonians
Backyard beekeeping is big in Portland, but it’s also increasing in popularity worldwide, bee educator Rebekah Golden says. She teaches classes on how to be a backyard beekeeper at Bee Thinking, a locally owned beekeeping supply store and education center in Southeast Portland. But she didn’t always like bees. Her entire life, Golden said, she…
Buzzworthy: The widely used pesticide that’s killing Oregon bees
In June 2013, an insecticide containing neonicotinoids caused a massive bumblebee die-off at a Target in Wilsonville. The chemical was sprayed to treat linden trees covered with aphids, but the trees were also filled with bumblebees pollinating the blossoms. The result was a parking lot covered with the little corpses of an estimated 50,000 bumblebees.…
Plant a pollinator garden
Because many bee species native to Oregon are solitary bees with small flying ranges, your backyard could become a haven away from harmful pesticides if you provide continuing floral resources, said Aimée Code, the pesticide program director at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “Recognizing there are hundreds of species out there, if you build…
Opinion
Social Security works; don’t let Trump destroy it
Be afraid, very afraid. There is good reason to fear that President Trump and the Republican Party are out to destroy our Social Security system. Social Security is an incredibly popular program. For decades, it has provided a reliable income floor for seniors. We need to prepare to fight for it. President Trump and the…
SR editorial: Let’s end the lethal loophole in Oregon’s gun laws
It happened again. Another case of domestic violence resulting in a murder. Just this week in San Bernadino, Calif., a man walked into his wife’s place of work – an elementary school – and shot to death her, a student and himself. Another student was injured. He was her husband, he was her abuser, and…
Editorial cartoon: April 14, 2017
Elizabeth Considine — the creator of Street Roots' editorial cartoon, Sheeptoast — was born in Portland and has been drawing since she could hold a pen. She loves theater, poetry, chickens, growing food, and walking her three dogs in the park. “I find inspiration in the strangeness of life and the character of human nature.…
Director’s Desk: How we can help bridge the gap between our homeless neighbors and the larger public
Young people grow up understanding that having people experiencing homelessness in their city is simply a fact of life. It’s a sad reality. The truth is mass homelessness hasn’t always existed in American cities. Saying that, it exists today and has become a normal part of life for many people living and working in American…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: Her dog by her side
If you’ve seen Kim selling Street Roots on the corner of Southwest Ninth and Taylor Street, then chances are you’ve seen her dog, Kobie, as well. The two have been together since Kobie was an 8-week-old puppy, over three years ago. Around the time she adopted her dog, Kim was able to move into her…
Housing
Faith, friends put Joseph Park on path out of homelessness
Joseph Park, a slender man with a gray brush cut and an expressive face, talks with his hands and leans forward to make sure his listener is engaged. His life is a study in extremes. We met to talk about that life, and how he, very recently, moved out of chronic homelessness into his own…
Director’s Desk: How we can help bridge the gap between our homeless neighbors and the larger public
Young people grow up understanding that having people experiencing homelessness in their city is simply a fact of life. It’s a sad reality. The truth is mass homelessness hasn’t always existed in American cities. Saying that, it exists today and has become a normal part of life for many people living and working in American…
